I'm glad to notice that some in the world of media are starting to notice that their fellows are giving McCain a free ride. Though this piece mentions his first wife, it fails to say McCain left her after she was terribly injured in a car accident. I've also read accounts that say McCain cracked under torture in Hanoi--another topic not explored here. But, other than that, I found this article thorough and accurate.

A second reading clarified why this article didn't sit right with me when I first read it. Like McCain himself, it hides a lot of spin behind seeming straight-talk. First is the "Forest Gump" narrative where McCain's dumping his loyal wife is a "piece of luck" from which "fortuities' flow. When McCain lies his way into office, it shows that "sometimes the narrative is far more powerful than mere facts." To gain support from "the party of orthodox conservatism," McCain has "transformed himself into a very different and much more conventional conservative politician." Orthodox? Conventional? There's nothing orthodox or conventional about McCain or the present-day GOP. They're unscrupulous rads, jacobins and budget-busters. Tomasky ... More »

Fairly balanced, but not always referenced back to the books he is reviewing. Mostly facts and dates, with minimal analysis of the effects of his positions. Not much mention of his long close affiliation with lobbyists, other than the Keating scandal.

This is good journalism because it tells a consistent story about McCain and provides substantial background and sources for this story. Like all good journalism, the story has a hook, which is dangled before the reader from the beginning. It begins with the wonderful phrase "a career thoroughly laundered in mythology" and then goes on to inform the reader that this premise will be backed by facts: "[his career] began with the the help of several fortuities. " After detailing these fortuities, the author explains how McCain has made use of every one of them, particularly by skillfully manipulating the press. The author goes on to detail specific instances in which McCain has dramatically changed his position on important ... More »

Gives an excellent background against which we can compare media coverage of John McCain. The basic premise is that the media has been and continues to be charmed and seduced by McCain, and that baby boomer journalists are hesitant to be harsh on McCain who served and suffered in Vietnam while they were home in college or smoking grass.

An excellent weaving of details of McCain's life into a review of 3 books on McCain, the article is about the packaging of McCain. The author justly raps the media for its inability to see beyond McCain's image, and does not shrink from including some unflattering biographic details, though not on his academic or military career -- the latter still apparently taboo, even in this demythologizing. The critical opinion maintains a fairly even tone that helps bolster its credibility.